Ways To Clean and Care For Your Pots and Pans
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January 14th, 2020
Start your year by saying goodbye to takeouts and investing on a new set of cookware. This “adulting move” could pave way to years of enjoyable cooking if you know how to treat your pots and pans with tender loving care. The main consideration to put in mind is the material your pots and pans are made of, because this affects mainly on how you clean and maintain them. For this reason, you should start by reading your cookwares’ manual and also get acquainted with the ideal conditions for those materials.
With those considerations in mind, here's a look on how to take care of your quality pots and pans:
1. NONSTICK
Cleaning:
- Most are not meant to be washed in the dishwasher but are easily cleaned with hot soapy water and dishwashing liquid.
- It is recommended to use plastic or nylon scrubbers on burnt-on food instead of using steel wool in cleaning non-stick pots and pans which will damage the non-stick coating.
- Treat your non-stick cookware with a good healing rejuvenating scrub mixture of equal parts baking soda and water in order to bring it back to life when it starts to stain from old oil or food.
- To repair any damage in the surface, apply a little vegetable oil to the pan, rub it into the surface, and let it rest.
Caring:
- The general rule of thumb is to never use metal utensils as they will scratch the non-stick finish and expose the metal underneath.
- Avoid cooking sprays, which can leave behind the gooey stained residue that requires using baking soda in cleaning it off.
- Remember to season the pan after cooking to keep it in top condition.
- Check care instructions even if the pan says it's dishwasher safe, don't put it through the dishwasher. It may hold together, but you'll drastically diminish its useful life.
2. COPPER
Cleaning:
- Clean the exterior of the cookware with a solution of white vinegar and two tablespoons of salt, then rinse and polish. Or you consider using a commercial copper cleaner.
- Instead of scouring, which can destroy the tin lining, wash pots and pans with warm water and dishwashing liquid, and soak in the same solution, if necessary, to remove baked-on food.
- Never submerge your beautiful copper cookware in water for extended periods of time. The cast iron handle will rust if left to soak in water and the copper will become tarnished. Instead, pour hot water into the vessel and add some washing up liquid. Let this soak inside of the cookware while you enjoy your meal and the clean up should be simple when the meal is done. Just fill it, don’t drown it!
Caring:
- Copper pots need constant polishing to keep their rich golden-red color
- Copper is an excellent conductor of heat, it is also reactive which means it reacts chemically with other foods. And so it's best to avoid cooking highly acidic foods such as tomato sauce in copper because it will leave your meal with a metallic taste.
- Dishwasher detergent will tend to discolor, tarnish, etch and corrode the copper, causing your pots and pans to be ruined, so keep them away! and ruin your copper pots and pans, so keep them away!
3. STAINLESS STEEL
Cleaning:
- Use a scrubbing pad and regular dish soap after using your pot.
- Wash stainless steel with detergent and water as soon as possible after use to reduce the chance of staining.
- Don’t use scouring powder or steel wool, which may scratch surfaces and leave them prone to staining.
- You can stick stainless steel in the dishwasher. But if you want to get rid of stains, you'll have to do so by hand.
Caring:
- Stainless steel is a nonreactive metal, meaning it doesn't react chemically with foods and won't alter the taste of acidic foods. It's low maintenance because it doesn't corrode, is easy to clean and doesn't scratch.
- Don’t leave stainless-steel pans to soak for long periods, because mineral salts in the water may cause them to rust.
- Shine your stainless steel with olive oil. First, wipe off any debris on the stainless steel surface. Then, pour the olive oil on a clean, soft cloth. Buff in a circular motion with firm pressure until the surface shines.
4. CAST IRON
Cleaning:
- For really stuck-on food where rinsing and scrubbing aren’t enough, pour a few tablespoons of canola oil and a few tablespoons of salt into the pan and use a paper towel to scrub the pan with this mixture until it comes clean, then rinse.
- Never use soap or detergent. It will remove the seasoning ang cause corrosion!
- Clean your pan with a stiff brush and hot water. First, boil water in the pan for a few minutes to loosen stuck on food. Then, rub the surface with your stiff brush until the food particles are gone.
- Thoroughly dry your cast-iron cookware to prevent rusting.
Caring:
- You need to ‘season’ your cast-iron cookware before using it, this means there’s a baked-on layer of oil called the patina. This can be done by brushing the sides of a pot, pan, or saucepan with unflavored vegetable oil, then pouring in enough oil to cover the bottom. Heat in the oven at low temperature for an hour. Remove, let cool, pour out the oil, and wipe away any residue with a paper towel.
- If your cast iron develops rust spots, they can be scoured off with sandpaper or a steel wool and a little vegetable oil.
- For storage, if you’re stacking your cast iron cookware with other pots and pans, it helps to slip a single paper towel slipped into the skillet for storage. It wicks away any moisture and protects the pan’s surface.
Buying quality cookware is an investment, and it's important to protect that investment by knowing how to properly take care of your pots and pans. By reading this article, you’ve familiarized yourself with the do’s and don’t of cookware care to maximize the use of your pots and pans for the years to come.